Megadarra-Brown Lentils and Rice

Lentils are comforting, homey, extraordinarily versatile and cheap. I first tasted them as a teenager when I was invited to a neighbor's house for dinner. The family's background was Middle Eastern and the food they ate was a world apart from my mother's Eastern European cooking style. The combination that I tasted that night: lentils, rice and fried onions topped with a dollop of cool, tangy yogurt was a revelation. Here is a version of that classic Middle Eastern dish. It is based on a recipe from Claudia Roden's extraordinary cookbook, The Book of Jewish Food. Ms. Roden explains that megadarra was regularly served on Thursday nights as part of a dairy meal. The recipe calls for lots of onions. Don't be alarmed. They cook up crisp, brown and heavenly.

3 large onions (about 1 1/2 lbs.), cut in half and sliced

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 cups large brown lentils

1 1/4 cups long grain rice

Salt and pepper, to taste

Fry the onions in the oil, stirring often, until they turn golden brown.

Rinse the lentils and cook them in a large saucepan in 4 1/2 cups of water for 20 minutes. Add half of the fried onions and the rice. Season with salt and pepper and stir well. Put the lid on and cook on very low heat for another 20 minutes, or until the rice and lentils are tender, adding water if the mixture becomes too dry.

At the same time, put the remaining onions back on the fire and continue to fry them, stirring often, until they are a dark brown and almost caramelized.

Serve the megadarra hot or at room temperature with these onions sprinkled on top. I usually top with yogurt.

Serves 4-6

Notes: Ms. Roden's recipe calls for 1/2 cup of olive oil.

My neighbors served a chopped salad of lettuce, radishes and tomatoes dressed with olive oil and lemon juice along with the megadarra.

My neighbors served a chopped salad of lettuce, radishes and tomatoes, dressed with olive oil and lemon juice along with the megadarra.